Responding to safety and logistics issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the International Laser Class Association has rescheduled its 2020 North American Championship regatta to September 2-6, 2020, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco.

Registration for the 2020 ILCA NAs is an expression of interest, and registrants are required to put up a $5 fully refundable deposit. Entries will be billed for the full amount should the event be run. Correspondingly, the Notice of Race also has been amended.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ILCA-NA Reschedules Upcoming North American Championships to September 2-6, 2020 at St. Francis Yacht Club.

Responding to safety and logistics issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the International Laser Class Association has rescheduled its 2020 North American Championship regatta to September 2-6, 2020, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco.

Registration for the 2020 ILCA NAs is an expression of interest, and registrants are required to put up a $5 fully refundable deposit. Entries will be billed for the full amount should the event be run. Correspondingly, the Notice of Race also has been amended.

“This is the pinnacle event in North America each year…if they can make it here, Laser sailors are going to be excited to be able to sail the event,” said Tracy Usher, President of the ILCA. “Pushing two months also enables more time to plan the necessary measures to ensure the safety of both the competitors but also the race management and jury teams…this includes procedures for maintaining distance in the boat park, during launching and retrieving and, critically, the social events.”

“We're doing everything we can to give sailors the opportunity to get back out on the water, and we believe the rescheduling of the ILCA NAs will provide that glimmer of hope,” said Graham Biehl, St. Francis Yacht Club Race Director. “With the 2020 Olympics being postponed until 2021, we hope to attract some major talent across North America looking to resume their training program for the Olympic Games.”

Indeed, one silver lining could be the appearances of such athletes as Charlie Buckingham and Paige Railey, who have clinched places on the US Olympic Sailing Team. “We hope to see some of the Olympic sailors turning up for this event,” Usher said. “Their attendance will depend on their training schedules but it is an opportunity for them to put another continental championship under their belts.”

Having taken this decision in concert with the shifts in the worldwide sailing calendar, the ILCA and StFYC are aware of the task at hand to present a high-quality ILCA NAs. “We’re working on a comprehensive set of procedures and guidelines for our Race Committee, Race Officials and competitors to keep themselves and each other safe,” said Gerard Sheridan, StFYC Executive Race Committee Chair. “Additionally we’ll be complying with all City and State issued health and safety guidelines and ordinances.”

“We are optimistic that by September we'll be seeing a return to some level of normalcy in our daily lives,” said Usher, “but also have to assume that many people who might normally attend an event like this might not be ready to get on a plane, or drive across country, etc. Generally, the assumption is that the bulk of the entries will be drawn from the West Coast, though we should still be able to get a lower number of entries from the East Coast and Canada.”

The 2020 ILCA NAs serve as the continental championships for the Laser Standard, Laser Radial, and Laser 4.7 class boats, as well as the U.S. West Coast championship for Laser Masters. For more information, visit the ILCA’s official website, www.laser.org.

About St. Francis Yacht Club

St. Francis Yacht Club was founded in 1927 and has been host to many of the most prestigious national and international championships in sailing. With over 40 regattas on its calendar annually, StFYC is widely regarded as having one of the top racing and race management programs in the country. In addition to enjoying a worldwide reputation for on-water excellence, Platinum Clubs of the World named the St. Francis Yacht Club the Number One Yacht Club in the United States in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019 and Boardroom Magazine recognized it as the first yacht club to be a Distinguished Emerald Club of the World.

All of the regattas hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club meet or exceed Gold Level Clean Regatta status from Sailors for the Sea, the world's only sustainability certification for water-based events. St. Francis Yacht Club utilizes a voluntary, self-assessment tool to benchmark its environmental footprint with goals for reducing waste generated by events and continuously improving the long-term sustainability of the club and the environment.